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UK and Japan join forces to launch first ever hydro motorbike

26 October 2007

The dream of totally green driving has this week become a reality after Intelligent Energy and Suzuki Motors unveiled ‘Crosscage’ - the first commercially viable hydrogen-powered motorcycle.

The motorbike, which runs in almost complete silence and works by convert hydrogen and oxygen into water, producing electricity as a by-product, is the result of a long-awaited joint venture between the Loughborough-based technology company and the Japanese motorcycle giant.

Up until now, it has been estimated that the cheapest fuel cell car would retail for around £500,000, however, the Crosscage may be the first affordable motorbike for those concerned about their carbon emissions.

The Crosscage will be featured at the Tokyo Motor Show, which kicked off this week, amid a number of other green offerings from mass motor manufacturers Honda and Toyota who are dedicating an estimated £9.8 billion into development for such vehicles for next year alone. Honda has estimated that by the year 2020, it will have built 400,000 fuel cell cars.

While green cars are not a new concept thanks to the number of hybrid vehicles currently on the market, the focus up to now has been on creating and designing cars rather than motorcycles. It is now thought that the lower costs involved in designing the Crossage will mean that it maybe available on the market sooner than other green vehicles.

However, mass-production of the eco-bikes will only begin when Suzuki and other manufacturers such as Yamaha and Honda are happy that there are enough buyers willing to purchase the machines.